


The Rowdy 3 Holiday Special

by Tella_Tale



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016), dghda - Fandom
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Dghda, DrummerWolf, F/M, M/M, the rowdy 3 - Freeform, the rowdy 3 holiday special
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-13 08:33:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12980190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tella_Tale/pseuds/Tella_Tale
Summary: With Amanda's help, the Rowdy 3 learn how to celebrate Holidays while Amanda recovers from a cold. In hopes of helping her feel better they decide to host a surprise Christmas party at Todd's house (without telling Todd). I suck at descriptions but this was a cute excuse to get Amanda/Martin and Dirk/Todd around some Mistletoe. Enjoy!





	1. Get Down With the Sickness

“Is it just me or is the snow extra…snowy this year?” Vogel asked as he formed another snow ball to add to his pile that had now grown in a relatively decent size. Gripps knelt beside him packing the same snow ball over and over until it crushed only to start again.  
“Too soft.” Gripps shook his head finally giving up and letting it drop to the ground. “stone is much better, breaks stuff instead of breaking.” Taking his glove between his teeth, Gripps pulled it off to wipe his palms on his pants. “Why do we we have to wear these hand socks again? Drummer said something about frost bite?”  
“Is that like, when the snow bites you back?” Vogel turned around when he sensed Amanda walking up behind them.  
“They’re called ‘Gloves’, Gripps.” Amanda explained while walking with her hands behind her back. “And you probably shouldn’t bite snow Vogel, it’s like hella dirty.” There was a mischievous grin on her lips and both Rowdies could sense a strange delight coming from her. At almost the same moment it hit them. 

 

“NO! Drummer! You said the Epic Snow War-Battle Extraviganza-palooza-fest wasn’t for a nother fifteen minutes!!” Vogel covered his face, peeking through his elbow at her. “C'mon Boss! Those were the rules.” With a heavy sigh Gripps stood up shaking his head.  
“There are no rules in Epic Snow War-Battle Extraviganza-palooza-fest …RUN!!” He no sooner got the words out and Amanda had nailed him in the shoulder with a snow ball. Vogel had already began whaling snow at both of them with a wild cackle before darting behind a tree. The others retreated as well, quickly loading up on more snow balls. It wasn’t long before a sea of snow balls and the thwap sound they made as they struck their targets, filled the air. This went on for quite a while before the rumbling of the Rowdy 3 Van bellowed in the parking lot behind the woods where they were battling. The three halted their war for a moment to gather and watch as it did doughnuts in the snow, slowly drifting closer and closer until it slammed on the breaks, covering them in a blanket of snow. 

“WE HAVE FORMED AN ALLIANCE!!” Cross shouted as he ripped the van door open and emerging with his arms in the air victoriously. Martin simply smirked from behind the steering wheel while he rolled down the window at the snow covered Rowdies. He peered down over his glasses with a raise of his eyebrows when he saw the glares.

“Only way to ever win a war is to make a few friends along the way. I ain’t exactly a ‘every man for himself’ kinda guy.” He said with a shrug before getting out of the vehicle and offering Amanda a hand out of the snow. He couldn’t help but notice the purple shade on her shivering lips. It was easy to forget that unlike the rest of the Rowdy 3 Amanda had more human vulnerabilities. “Alright, war’s over. I’m callin’ victory. Now c'mon, get in the van before you freeze t’ death, Drummer Girl.” His arm linked around her shoulders, ushering her into the van, his hand lingering an extra moment on the nape of her neck.  
“No fair! You cheated!” Vogel pointed a finger at him with a glare.

“I call rematch.”  
“Or at least write up a peace treaty.” Gripps added while he nudged Vogel into the van as well. 

Despite the jokes and teasing, they didn’t need more than a few glances among one another to understand play time was over. It wasn’t worth the risk of getting Amanda sick, though judging by the pink nose and watery eyes, it may have been a little late for that. Martin revved up the van, putting the heat on full blast in hopes to warm her up a bit quicker. He looked into the rear-view mirror as he drove to see her with her arms wrapped around herself trying to conserve heat. Without saying a word Gripps placed his coat over her shoulders and Amanda would have been lying if she’d said the warmth didn’t feel nice.  
“You guys don’t have to be so fragile.” She sniffled with a half-hearted chuckle. “It’s just a little cold. I get them every year around Christmas. My Grammy used to make hot coco for me and Todd when we were kids.” She leaned back pulling the coat tighter around her. 

“What’s a Grammy?”  
“What’s hot coco?”  
“What’s Christmas?” Vogel, Cross and Gripps all asked at the same time, Vogel speaking last.

The questions struck her for a moment realizing that thanks to Black Wing the boys had a lot of social gaps in their knowledge.  
“Wait a second?” She sat up straight and tilted her head. “Y-you guy’s have never had a Christmas?” Eyes fell to each Rowdy boy, falling to Martin last who simply shrugged.  
“Can’t really celebrate somethin’ you don’t know anything about.” He spoke over his shoulder while he drove. “Black Wing didn’t exactly invite us to the annual Christmas party.” There came a long moment of silence while Amanda tried to imagine what that must have been like, only to realize it was more terrifying just imagining. Living it must have been hell. Cross felt a shift in the mood and decided it was time for a change of topic.  
“Tell us about it, Drummer!” He nudged her knee with his crowbar. “What’s it like? This Christmas stuff? I heard it’s to celebrate some guy in a big red coat’s birthday!” Amanda couldn’t help but laugh softly at his rendition of Christmas.  
“No, it’s the day Santa Clause comes down from the heavens and gives eggs to good boys and girls.” Vogel chimed in which only made her laugh more and shake her head.  
“No, no nothing like that?” She stopped them before things got even sillier. “Christmas can mean a lot of things to a lot of people but to my family, it was just a Holiday where you got together with loved ones, you gather around a pine tree…for some…dumb reason I’m sure exists. Okay so there’s like stupid traditions people do for Holidays.” Amanda rambled a little realizing she would have to actually break things down for them to understand.

“Everyone has different traditions, like some people celebrate Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, which is like Christmas in the sense that they happen around the same time of year." God this was a lot more difficult to explain than she thought." 

' With Christmas you get a tree and decorate it with like blinky lights, and glass decorations, and a big star at the top. Then you put gifts under the tree.” She rambled off quickly.  
“Are the gifts for the tree?” Martin asked a little quieter than expected, like he was afraid to ask. Which again caused Amanda to let out a soft laugh.  
“No, you typically make or buy a person something you think they would like or appreciate. Then you wrap it up so it’s a surprise and you put them under the tree until Christmas and then you open it–hm. ” She started clearing her throat a little which turned into a deeper sounding cough. “And then after you sit with your family and drink warm milk with chocolate and marshmallows in it.” Her cough started again and without warning the van jolted to a stop. They all looked at Martin in concern.  
“That cough’s been rattlin’ round for a day and a half now. Now I’m not one for doctors or science men of any kind but I am also not fool 'nough to let a 'silly cold’ as you put it turn into full blown bronchitis or pneumonia. New plan, boys!” He turned in his seat to look into the back of the van. “We take Drummer somewhere warm, indoors and then I say we throw her one Hell of a Holiday party while she rests up?!” Amanda tried to protest but the Rowdy 3 were already revved up, hooting and shaking the van with excitement. Her eyes moved to Martin’s behind his glasses and she gave him a glare with a hint of a smirk in the corner of her lips. 

“Fine, just don’t go overboard, guys. Seriously.” Again she pulled the coat around her tighter, feeling sweat drop down her neck despite shivering. Amanda knew better than to try to tell the Rowdy 3 to take anything easy. This was going to be interesting.


	2. Jingle Bells

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dirk is helping Todd decorate his apartment when the Rowdy 3 decide to host a Christmas party at Todd's. Vogel tries caroling.

 "I hardly see the point of decorating one's house in silly little bits of shiny plastic while storing a piece of dead forest in your living room and decorating it's corpse in more bit's of shiny plastic like some..twisted....tree...murderer-er.." Dirk paused mid rant to look closer at the Christmas Tree with sunglasses ornament in his hands, shaking his head as he hanged it on the tree. Todd on the other hand was just staring back at him, brows knit with a tilt of his head as a silver bulb dangled between his fingers.

  
"You really don't _do_ the whole Christmas thing do you?" Todd shook his head giving a roll of his eyes before putting the bulb on the tree. Hands moved adjusting the lights wrapping around the branches of the pine tree to make room for more decorations, but he kept his eyes on Dirk as the detective continued to nervously fuss over the proximity of each ornament to one another. Dirk made a point not to quite answer the question right away. Dirk didn't want to bring up yet again that Blackwing didn't exactly celebrate holidays. Once Riggin's had given him a new jumpsuit, telling him 'Happy Birthday', but it was impossible to know when it was or what time of year it had been when his world had consisted of living underground.   
"Isn't this more of a Farah activity, Todd?" He stopped again giving a light flail of his hands before shaking his head and moving the poorly painted ornament Todd had clearly made as a child a little closer to the puppy wearing sunglasses. "And what is with every other ornament wearing bloody sunglasses? "Dirk held up a plastic Santa with sunglasses and a cola in his hands. "It's **Winter** , Todd! Why does a _possibly_ fictional man need to wear sunglasses in the winter if he flies at night? Nothing about these silly traditions make any sense?"

  
Todd tilted his head briefly. " _ **Possibly** fictional_." He then shook his head dismissing it before he let out a heavy sigh replacing the plastic Santa Clause ornament with a Snickerdoodle cookie in hopes to quiet Dirk long enough for him to relax just a moment. Pouting, Dirk bit the cookie, admitting defeat. "Farah said she was visiting her brother for the holidays and I need help decorating my apartment after the Rowdy 3 destroyed everything." Todd explained this many times but there was something about this kind of celebration that made Dirk uncomfortable. "Look..." Todd rested a hand on Dirk's shoulder in an effort to comfort him. "I..I-I know you didn't have a...normal upbringing." Todd tried to choose his words carefully. "And I'm sure this is all..."

  
"Incredibly confusing, convoluted, senseless, and just a little bit tacky?" Dirk spoke incredibly fast, finishing the sentence for him. Todd gave him a look, raising his brow with a huff.   
"I was going to say 'frustrating'. " His lips pursed with a coy smirk, watching the detective nibble on the cookie before giving a surprised 'Mm!' "You don't have to worry about any real party stuff. I'm not planning on having people over until tomorrow and it's only going to be my parents and maybe Amanda. No Rowdy 3. No mystery to be solved. No crazy holistic interconnectedness leading us into-" Dirk cut him off short with another loud-"M-mm-Todd I must congratulate your mother in person for these...what do you call them? Snacker-dudes?" Dirk mumbled taking a last bite and licking his lips. Todd was already getting annoyed that he wasn't listening.

  
"N-no I said you won't be around when my parents..." Just then Todd's phone gave a buzz in his pocket and he stopped to look at the text.

**[ Amanda:**   
**YO!! CHRISTMAS PARTY**   
**AT YOUR HOUSE 10 MINUTES!! ]**

  
Todd suddenly went pale, holding his phone as he just stared at the screen. "Oh no..." The words slipped past his lips raising much concern in the Detective standing across from him.

  
"Todd?! What's wrong? What is it?! Is it a new case?! Is someone hurt?" Dirk played his guessing game until Todd flipped the phone around and Dirk grew just as pale.

  
"Your sister...want's to have a Christmas party, here, in ten minutes?" It was all slowly sinking in even after Todd nodded yes. A half giddy/half anxous laugh bubbled up from Dirk's core sounding a little like a mad man. "And I'm assuming she'd want to bring her....are they like boyfriends? _Pets_?" He asked only being half sarcastic.

  
"I'm calling her!!" Todd finally decided as he held the phone up to his ear. Dirk stood close to the phone in Todd's hands and listened to the ring. They both nearly jumped when she picked up.

  
"Todd?" Amanda's voice came from the other end. "Todd you there? Look don't freak out okay!" It was hard to make out over all the commotion but Todd could swear he could hear coughing.

  
 _"Casual! Act casual!"_ Dirk harshly whispered while hands took Todd's to cover the receiver.   
_"I know! I know! Give me the phone back_ " Todd bickered back before holding the phone up to his ear.  
"Amanda?" He did his best to sound calm. "Are you sick? Is everything okay? Why did you text me that I'm having a Christmas party?" The questions went off in rapid fire. Again he could hear her coughing mixed in with loud music playing in the background.

  
"I'm fine!" She answered the more important question first. "It's just a cold but the Rowdy 3 insist I get indoors and I thought, why not spice things up with a party. Your place is already trashed so... "

  
 _"Amanda! **No**! No-no-no-no-no!_ "

  
"Look I told the boys to behave themselves and when was the last time we had a real Christmas party? Mom and dad have gone to Florida for the last three years and skip out on your lame ass parties any ways. Come on, Todd." She coughed again, hamming it up a bit. "I'm _siiick_... ** _Please_**....It'll be like when we were kids.Remember Grammy's hot coco?"

  
Dirk was frantically shaking his head, waving his arms in a big X form while mouthing the words 'NO WAY IN HELL' but Todd let out a heavy sigh. "They promise not to wreck the place?" He closed his eyes in defeat. Dirk's eyes nearly popped out of his head and a small squeal of fear came out of his mouth like a dog toy being squeezed.

  
"Amanda?" Todd tilted his head hearing silence only to realize the call had ended. Dirk was still frozen, fingers spread like he could ring Todd's neck, his jaw hanging open before he finally snapped. 

  
 _"PLEASE TELL ME YOU DID NOT JUST INVITE THE ROWDY 3 HERE!!_??" The words boomed loud enough to hurt Todd's ears making him wince in pain. He put a hand on Dirk's shoulder again trying to calm him down, though he knew it wouldn't help.   
"She's my family...and I know we don't exactly get along with them but maybe they'll behave and we'll have a nice-okay I can't even say that with a straight face. This is going to be a disaster." Todd spoke in a flat tone, a hand moving over his face.

 

The low rumble of music grew louder down the street as a black beat up van rolled closer to the apartment complex. Both men looked out the window together, shoulders dropping in unison. The doors slammed open and a tall man with a crow bar emerged while the smaller one with a baseball bat jumped from the van into a pile of snow.   
**"DECK THE HALLS!** " The taller one shouted into the sky while half wrestling the bigger guy as he shouted

 **"GET IT ALL OUT NOW!!** "

  
Todd still hadn't learned their names yet, though if they were going to keep showing up like this he'd have to learn. The leader with the blonde Mohawk got out of the driver's seat and offered Amanda a hand as she stepped out quite more composed than the others. At least it seemed like they were treating her well despite being 4 crazy homeless guys his sister had joined up with. He didn't really want to know the details of her relationship with them, so long as she was happy and safe. Dirk anxiously paced in the living room as the group moved to the front door. Todd moved to comfort him, but they were going to be at the door any moment and he wanted to be ready for any chaos that was about to ensue. It was oddly quiet after they left the sight of the window and were now inside. Instead of loud crashing of smashed light bulbs or a baseball bat slamming the walls there was a light tap of shoes on carpet growing closer. A sound that was somehow scarier than destruction.

  
A light knock came at the door and the two men shared a glance. Todd slowly walked up to the door and reached for the handle. He flinched when he pulled the door suddenly, expecting them to rush inside, but they stood perfectly still, large grins on 4 out of 5 faces. The blonde still had an uncomfortable stoic look on his face, staring Todd down.

  
 _"JUNGLE BALLS ♫ JUNGLE BALLS! ♫ JUNG-_ " The smallest one started singing only to have the leader grab his shoulder to stop him before he could get further.

  
"Manners, Vogel. We're guests 'member?" He said in a low, gruff tone. Todd of course was left speechless, mouth hanging open unsure of what the proper thing to say ways.

  
"Merry Christmas to you too, Todd. Thanks for letting us crash here." Amanda rolled her eyes before moving past Todd, patting him on the shoulder. Once her eyes fell on the bright red leather coat and the detective wearing it. "DIRK!" She shouted excitedly as she ran to give him a hug. Of course, Dirk gave Amanda a large hug, being cordial.   
"Amanda...and....." He cleared his throat. "Friends." It was like the words were choking him. Very tenderly, she pulled back to put an arm around his shoulder.

  
"Don't worry, I made them promise to behave. They even brought gifts!" Her eyes lit up and his own turned to the four men in question.

  
"Gifts?" Dirk repeated in disbelief.

Amanda nodded as she gestured to the larger man to grab something.   
Three of them ran outside the doorway before returning with large boxes that were poorly wrapped in news paper and ductape. The taller man carried a half bare pine tree over his shoulder, quickly moving it in next to Todd's nicely decorated tree, knocking a few dozen bulbs onto the floor with a crash. The other two set the boxes around the tree, slightly bending a few in the process. Dirk flinched when they moved past him, the shortest one giving him a big toothy grin.

  
"This is um... _nice_?" He did his best to keep a friendly composure. "You're um...Vo-Vogel, Right?" His fake smile grew bigger when the kid nodded vigorously. But Dirk's smile faded when the one he was sure was named 'Grippy' walked in holding a traffic light in the air.

  
"Drummer said ta' bring lights to put on the tree." He stated bluntly. Dirk's jaw dropped more impressed than confused, which was saying a lot.

  
"Lovely." The fake smile returned.


	3. Rowdy Soup for the Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amanda gets some rest. Dirk and Todd bond with the Rowdy 3. also minor Amanda/Martin fluff

 

Amanda wasted no time finding Todd's couch and crawling up into a ball. It hadn't been so bad when she was playing with the Rowdy 3 in the snow, but now that she was settling down, the full force of her cold made her ache and chilled her to her bones. Todd simply observed when Martin went into Todd's bedroom and came back out with a stack of the blankets and pillows from his bed. "Um..." Todd made very little attempt to stop him. "W-we have um, we have guest blankets." He offered in a meek voice. Martin paused to peer at him from over his glasses and Todd began to shrink where he stood. "That's fine, Amanda always stole my blankets as kids... _why stop now_?" His voice cracked when speaking the last part and Martin simply exhaled through his nostrils and moved to wrap the girl in the blankets, making an almost nest around her once he added the pillows. 

He knelt down brushing a hand over her hair tenderly and speaking just too soft for Todd to understand. Though she nodded her head and gave the blonde a smile. Todd was starting to get the feeling Amanda more so wanted a place to crash until she felt better. As children and well into her young adulthood both the Brotzman siblings tended to get a little clingy when they got sick and the Rowdy 3 rarely sat still for more than a few seconds. Todd stepped up behind Martin to give his sister a sympathetic grin. 

"I haven't seen you this pale since-"

"Myranda Johnson's keger my freshman year?" Amanda finished the sentence for him with a soft laugh. Todd couldn't help but think looked so small from under the pile of blankets. Martin had now managed to settle in on the couch beside her reminding Todd of a protective rottweiler. Eyes flicked back and forth over his glasses like he was watching Todd's every movement. 

"Haha yeah...Listen, do you want like soup or something?" he offered pointing to the kitchen. "I'll make it just like mom used to make."

Here eyes were drifting closed about half way and she gave a light nod. "You always get super nostalgic around this time of year." She teased. "I swear if you got me another lame ass picture with a tacky Wal-mart frame this year, I call the rights to regift." She was joking of course. Amanda always loved her brother's tacky gifts. Todd always got a little too into Christmas. Todd on the other hand made a nervous laugh.

"Could always smash it?" Martin suggested, still not taking his eyes off Todd. Was he even blinking, Todd wondered? Amanda patted his hand with a shake of her head. 

"No, we don't smash Christmas gifts. That's considered rude," Martin opened his mouth but Amanda cut him off. " _Even_ if you don't like the gift, you don't smash things other people give you." He didn't seem the see the logic in her reasoning but agreed all the same. Watching the two of them, Todd got the strange feeling there was something going on between them. He was always at her side, ever watchful of any danger around her. It was good, Todd supposed. He'd met some of the men Amanda used to bring home from Punk shows and at least two of them made the Rowdy 3 look like angels....very scary angels. 

"You guys make yourselves at home. I'll go put some soup on. You're in luck I just went shopping so there's actually food in the house." Todd offered, making his way to the stove. 

 

Dirk on the other hand was on the other side of the room doing his best making no noise, standing perfectly still and hoping the Rowdy 3 would maybe forget he was there, or think he was a piece of furniture? Clearly this plan was already failing since Gripps, Cross and Vogel just stood around him with puzzled looks on their faces. 

"Y'know? I think this is the longest we've actually been around, British Guy!" Vogel said from behind Dirk, giving his shoulder a sniff. "His fear smells funny today." He began to lick his lips but Cross grabbed Dirk's shoulder moving him instead of Vogel.

"Drummer said not to scare the British guy today. It's Christmas!" He noted as Dirk made a small squeal of fear. Dirk wasn't going to mention that Christmas was at least a week away for fear of them feeding.

"Well isn't that...polite." Dirk cleared his throat trying to stand upright, but Cross still had hold of his shoulder. "So..." Wow this really was the longest they'd been in a room together in quite some time. Dirk rattled his brain for some kind of small talk or conversation piece they could all relate to. Finally he blurted out the only thing that came to mind. "You boys um...you enjoying life outside Blackwing, because I sure as hell am." He cleared his throat again, trying to ignore the imaginary feather tickling the back of it. Dirk's fear grew when the mention of the government facility that had basically enslaved them only made the Rowdy 3 grow quiet. 

But only for a brief moment. "Fuck that place, man." Cross eased his grip on Dirk's shoulder.   
"Yeah, and fuck Riggins too!" Gripps added

Dirk's eyes lit up. "Yes!" Common ground! "We **_hate_ ** Riggins! and Friedkin!  What bad bad men!" He let out a giddy laugh at the surprise of having something in common with these  hooligans. Eyes darted between each Rowdy boy each time he spoke, as if he was trying to see all their reactions at once.

"Don't forget Priest." Cross added, the bitterness clear in his tone. Dirk's smile fell at the mention of Osmud Priest.

"Yes, hate doesn't even begin to cover how I feel about the pants wettingly scary psychopath of a man." He added with a dramatic wave of his hand. This time Vogel was the one to rest a hand on Dirk's shoulder, but far lighter of a grip this time and there was an all too familiar fear behind the young man's eyes. 

"It's okay...Priest made me wet my pants one time too..." Vogel spoke with such sincerity in his voice Dirk didn't have the heart to tell him it was just a turn of phrase. 

"Aww." Dirk pouted his lips patting Vogel on the shoulder just the same. "Look at us...getting along like...like...something that's not quite friends and a little above acquaintances ." He shrugged simply relishing in the moment for a bit longer. Moments like this were always short lived. 

As Todd cooked the soup Amanda set, snuggled in against Martin. The pair of them watched Dirk and the other Rowdies observantly. She let out a soft chuckle when Vogel wrapped his arm around Dirk's neck giving him a playful ruffle of his hair. 

"Why don't you take a little siesta, Drummer?" Martin spoke just loud enough for her to hear. "We ain't goin' nowhere without you, and it was your idea to come here to rest. I know the whole party thing was just your way of making something incredibly boring, fun for the boys." He paused looking up to see Dirk try to play back with the Rowdies only to instantly regret it when Cross put him in a head lock. Her eyes were struggling to stay open now and the ache in her bones and a rattle in her chest where phlegm settled in. They could both hear her wheeze lightly when she breathed and Amanda could see the glimmer of worry in his eyes. 

"Okay....Just until the soup is ready." she closed her eyes all together. Her voice was getting hoarse since they'd gotten back from their snow ball fight and Martin wasn't going to let it get worse. His hand brushed the hair out of her eyes before stopping on her cheek. She felt so small in his hands when they were together like this. So fragile. He could feel her drifting to sleep, sensing Amanda's relaxation as she did so. His eyes simply watched over her as she fell deeper into sleep until he was sure she was out cold. He studied the features of her face, the way her hair was resting on the pillows surrounding her. 

"So you like really care about her, huh?" Todd spoke up pulling Martin from his thoughts. The blonde didn't say anything but instead gave a half shrug. There was no doubt in the young man's mind that the psychic vampire was picking up on his hesitation towards the question. "Don't give me that," Todd rolled his eyes at the man before giving him a coy smirk. He spoke soft enough not to wake Amanda or get the attention of the others. "Amanda's never really been one for the whole 'long term boyfriend' thing." he made air quotes before tossing a dish towel over his shoulder to free his hands to lower the heat on the stove. He also noticed the uneasy stir of Martin at the word 'boyfriend'. Even when Todd thought about it, it felt juvenile to talk about. "I see the looks." He smirked quoting his own sister, though for a very different situation. "Her you, definitely you her."  

Briefly Todd was worried he'd upset Martin by the way he clenched his jaw but the unexpected came out of his mouth. "Ya think she knows?" Martin cleared his throat to glance at her before averting his gaze. Surprised Todd let out a laugh to see someone who scared him so much actually look vulnerable. Then it began to dawn on him. This 'Scary guy' was probably going to be his sister's boyfriend...or at least something like one. The Rowdy 3 weren't going anywhere, that was made clear. Wanting to be a good brother, he got an idea. 

"Help me cook the soup and we could talk about it?" He inflected his voice as he spoke, shoulders shrugging. Martin simply narrowed his eyes a moment feeling like this was some kind of trap, or joke to make him look foolish.

Martin was sure he'd never cooked a day in his life, since food wasn't exactly on his menu. Though it might not be a bad skill to learn with Amanda around now. He let out a grunt before easing himself off the couch to not wake the sleeping girl. Walking up to Todd he towered over him, not meaning to it was just how he stood. Menacingly. "What'chya want me to do?"

Todd did his best not to cower as he offered the man a kitchen knife. "Why don't you try cutting the carrots?" His voice shook but he didn't squeak like before. Martin nodded pulling a few out of the bag and cutting them like he'd seen people on TV do it. Instantly he regretted asking him to help. He expected the man to go crazy on the cutting bored or even just break the carrots but what Todd hadn't prepared himself for was for Martin to look, well normal. As though he picked up on Todd's surprise, he grabbed the apron off the hook and tied it around his middle.

"You tell Drummer you made me into a 50's house wife and the carrots won't be the only thing gettin' cut." Martin spoke in a low tone, not looking up from the cutting board. Though Todd was sure he could see a hint of a smirk. Eyes went a little wide. Martin was messing with him...like _actually_ joking. Todd kept stirring the broth as he let a chuckle slip out. 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Martin learns what mistletoe is and Cross eats a cookie. I hate filling descriptions just read it and see if you like what happens.

"So Todd and I narrowly escape the death light bulb trap, only to discover another puzzle. Just as dangerous as the last!" Dirk was now knelt on a foot stool while Gripps, Cross and Vogel sat on the floor to listen to his story. Dirk was happy to learn the Rowdy 3 actually enjoyed his stories. Well they enjoyed the ones about danger and near death occurrences. 

"Did you guys make it out alive?!" Vogel asked with a child like wonder. 

"How _many_ light bulbs?" Gripps added. 

"Skip to the part where we come in!" Cross shifted on the floor so he was sitting up a little straighter. A giddy smirk curled over Dirk's lips, not really sure where to go from here. He hadn't expected the Rowdy 3 to take any interest in anything other than torturing him. They really weren't such bad guys just misguided. Who could blame them after everything Blackwing did to them. Dirk included. 

"Now, now I'm sure you boys have some stories of your own?" Dirk leaned forward resting his chin in his hand. "You're the Rowdy 3 for goodness sakes!" The three boys looked to one another with guilty grins, all nodding to agree they have had some pretty wild adventures. Vogel held his bat a little closer to his chest as a few particularly good memories flowed through his mind. Dirk noticed an almost silent conversation between them. He'd never really given it much thought but they were the same kind of 'different' as Dirk, just more connected to one another. Like a hive mind. Eyes flickered between them at his quiet little epiphany, feeling foolish for not thinking of it sooner.   
  


"Remember the time-" Vogel started  
"With that guy in the dumb blue sweater?" Gripps nodded  
"Yeah, with the really high neck." Cross rubbed a hand over his belly.  
"There were so many fires that day..." Vogel let out a content sigh. 

" _Tasty_." They all said in unison.  Dirk let the silence linger for a moment, his surprised expression fading to that of annoyance. 

"That was me...." He said flatly. "That was my dumb blue sweater. You're talking about the time you four cornered me in some little back woods town in Texas. There were so many fires because one of you knocked over a gas pump and the entire gas station went up in smoke." Dirk sat up, recalling the memory as he muttered about the events to himself. "I only narrowly escaped with my life. The ambulance driver and I both cried after you smashed up the ambulance...I-I think that might have been the worst day of my life." He said with a traumatized drop of his jaw. "I don't even think I ever solved the case of the missing diamonds." 

"Are you kidding me?" Vogel laughed. "That was the best day! Three cars 'sploded! All that mixture of fear, anger,"  
"So much embarrassment!" Cross wrapped an arm around Dirk, ruffling his hair again. "I thought you were gonna piss your pants!" 

"I still never found out where those shiny rocks came from. We found 'em inside a big vase Martin smashed." Vogel's words suddenly had Dirk's attention. His head shot up from under Cross's arm.

"Shiny rocks?" His jaw dropped. "SOLVED IT!" Cross released him, giving him a look like he was crazy. "Oh my god it's been...four years?! and I just now solved it! Oh well progress is still progress!!" He realized the others were staring at him now. "The diamonds...the shiny rocks. I was hired by someone to find them, but no one knew where they went. It was as if they vanished out of thin air. BUT! The same woman who hired me must have hidden the diamonds before her death, in the Vase that was lost when she was moving across country to run from her horrible husband, but it wasn't lost at all. It was stolen! You four showed up and after a _very_ wild car chase, flipped a moving van that just so happened to be carrying the same vase!! SOLVED IT!" His arms shot in the air only to receive blank expressions from the Rowdy 3 and a grunt from the sleeping Amanda.

 _________

"Well they seem to be getting along?" Todd looked up from the soup as Dirk shouted something about solving a case. To his knowledge they weren't working one, but it was good to see they weren't wrestling or trying to kill each other. Martin simply grunted in agreement as he diced the carrots. Todd felt like he was doing most of the talking because, well he was. Martin was a man a very few words. "You know? You're actually not bad at that." He noted in hopes of starting some kind of conversation. 

"Don't know much about cookin' but even breakin' shit requires precision." Martin finished cutting the carrots he started on the celery. For a while the only sound was the cutting board, boiling water, causal conversation from across the room and the light sound of seasonal music on the radio. Todd couldn't take it much longer. The silence was almost worse than the awkward conversations, but he still held the plan to get to know the guy more. Panicking Todd said the first thing that came to mind. 

"So...What um...do you and Amanda have like a long term plan here, or...?" His words trailed off. "I mean, of course it's your own business and obviously her own business and I know Amanda is her own person and she is capable of making decisions on her own, but she's also me little sister and I have to look out for her. Not that she can't look out for herself." he was rambling now. Martin stopped cutting vegetables for a moment, pushing his glasses up to get a better look at Todd. 

"Are you honestly asking me what my intentions with your sister are?" God the man was impossible for Todd to read, but he couldn't keep cowering every time Martin gave him a cold stare. He tried not to think about the last time he tried to stand up to the Rowdy 3 and ended up getting knocked down and then tasered by a crazy bald guy in a cult. Todd cleared his throat trying to show any amount of backbone. 

"Y-yeah..I guess I am. I just need to know she's in good hands." He cleared his throat again, wondering why his mouth felt so dry while his palms were left sweaty. Martin just stared at him a moment, his tongue licking across his lips before they pulled into a wide grin. 

"I think I'm startin' to like you, kid." He gave Todd a playful but rough shove of the shoulder. "You're less of an asshole than previously thought and you really care 'bout Drummer's safety. Took you long enough to finally grow a pair. Confidence smells good on you." 

Todd gave him a perplexed look as he tilted his head up at Martin. "You didn't actually answer my question." 

"Persistent too." Martin laughed as he dumped the carrots into the pot of broth. A hand rested on the counter so he was facing Todd fully now, staring down from behind his smudged lenses. "But you can relax. We ain't just four regular guys just runnin' around in a van, causing hell for fun...I mean we are that but there's layers to it." he waved a hand as he explained. "Drummer's special. You know it, I know it. Her attack things, there's more to it than that and I like to think me and my boys make it easier on her. She's just as much family to us as we are to her, and s'long as she wants us, we'll be here for her. And as for the... _unique_ connection she and I share, well" He glanced at Amanda to make sure she was still out like a light. "I'll let Drummer decide when she's ready for somethin' like that."  

Todd hadn't expected such a straight forward response, but Martin could pick up him easing up a bit now that the tension had dropped slightly. He didn't want to admit that Martin and his weird gang kind of sounded perfect for Amanda. The Punk scene, wild music, breaking things, and the assistance of some kind of psychic ability that gave his sister visions and decreased her crippling Particularity attacks. What more could a big brother hope for in his little sisters potential boyfriends? He kept stirring the pot as he thought about it, respecting that Martin was waiting for Amanda to make the first move, but also knew how Amanda could be. He looked up to see what Dirk was doing across the room. He couldn't help but admire the decorations they'd put up together before Amanda and the Rowdy 3 showed up. It wasn't half bad for how destroyed the apartment was. Eyes followed the garland along the borders of the room when something hanging on the ceiling caught his eye.

"Huh, Dirk must have put up the mistletoe. I totally forgot I even had that. Must have been in the boxes of old decorations from when I still had a girlfriend. I doubt he even knew what it was when he hung it up" Todd laughed a little too hard as he added the chicken to the broth now stirring it with the noddles. "God I was so desperate back then." He continued to laugh until he noticed Martin not getting the joke. 

"What, your old girlfriend have a thing for ugly plants hanging from the ceiling?" Martin looked at the Mistletoe that hung, covering a bullet hole to the floor above. Todd realized there were probably a lot of traditions the Rowdy 3 didn't understand. 

"No, that's mistletoe." Todd explained with a smirk. "People hang it up and if two people are caught standing under it they have to kiss. It's just a silly tradition." 

"Mmhm..Sounds stupid." Martin nodded but his eyes stayed on the mistletoe before looking to the sleeping Amanda. It was endearing in its own way, Todd thought as he cleared the counter and put the dirty knives in the sink.  Drying his hands off he folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the counter top. 

"You could just make the first move? Amanda likes guys that are bold. Probably why she's so interested in you." 

Martin could see Todd was trying and he wasn't foolish enough to not admit he wasn't the easiest person to talk to.  He wasn't used to being the one who felt the anxiety, but feeding off it. They dealt more with feeding on emotions, not so much with the talking about them part. The other three must have picked up on Martin's anxious emotion because they left Dirk mid story to crowd around Todd. Cross gave him a look as if to ask if there was any trouble to which Martin simply dismissed him with a wave of his hand and a quick shake of his head. Dirk was slightly put off by everyone just leaving him when things were finally going well again so he decided to follow them to the kitchen. 

"Heavens, Todd! That smells amazing! You never told me you could cook?" Dirk swung around so he was standing beside him now, sniffing the soup. 

"Didn't really have the time since we've mostly been running since literally the day we met." Todd teased, before offering him a bite of soup. "Here tell me if it's too salty. I always add too much salt." Leaning forward Dirk sipped off the spoon, erupting in a groan of pleasure. 

"That's incredible!" Dirk's eyes went wide before taking another bite. "Please tell me you made enou-"

"Yes I'm making enough to share." Todd rolled his eyes but there was no hiding his proud smile. Beside him, Martin gave a light nudge and leaned in. 

"Maybe you two should try standing under the ceiling plant." He spoke under his breath, but Dirk still gave them a strange look. Todd tried his best to hide his blushing cheeks but failed horribly. 

"It's slightly terrifying how chummy you two have gotten over the bonding activity of soup making and I'm not quite sure how I feel about this whole..." he gestured to all of them standing together. _"thing_ either." 

"Don't be such a Grinch." Todd gave a coy grin.

Dirk just rolled his eyes back at him. "I'm not a little green trashcan dwelling puppet, Todd." 

"That's Oscar the grouch...and yeah you can be sometimes." He handed Dirk another sugar cookie which he stuck between his lips with a pout. The two exchanged shy glances. 

"Why's it smell like chicken and sexual tension in here?" Cross blurted the words out as he took a cookie from the tray and snapped it in half between his teeth, talking with half a cookie in his mouth. Martin, Todd and Dirk seemed to snap into motion after that, no one ever really answering the question.  

 

 


	5. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter. The Rowdy 3 hand out gifts, eat soup and if you've made it to this chapter you already know what's going on and this summary is pointless, so just enjoy the feels and good times!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This was started before the season 2 finale and it killed me not writing Beast in there but there was no smooth way of writing her in without derailing what i already had planned. I hope you enjoyed the story and have a happy and safe Holiday Season)

Todd was still blushing at Cross's comment as he kept his focus on the soup. The rest of the Rowdy 3 were crowded around Martin, all fascinated as they watched him attempting to cook. Todd ignored their chatter, feeling his cheeks grow a little brighter when Dirk stood beside him to see his progress. 

"Smells wonderful. Maybe I should bump you up to Personal Chef?" Dirk joked as he popped a stray carrot slice in his mouth. "And it's really nice of you to make dinner for your sick sister, and I must say the tacky decorations actually look nice when they're all together." He gave Todd a toothy grin, simply relishing in the fact that things were going nicely for a change. No one was in hiding, at least for now. No secret Government organization was currently out to get them. It was peaceful. 

"You helped too," Todd said modestly as he moved to the other counter to get a few mugs from the cabinet along with the packets of hot coco. Dirk was standing a little closer now, not even realizing it when he started helping Todd fill the mugs with chocolate powder and tiny marshmallows. Their motions were nearly in unison. Todd caught Martin's eye from the other side of the counter, the Rowdy 3 bobbing around him as he continued to prep. He gave the boy the same coy smirk as before and it was all he could do to keep from rolling his eyes. 

"Sweet! Drummer's awake!" Voge's voice came from behind the group as he bounced over to the couch.

"Barely..." She The words came out mumbled hadn't even opened her eyes yet but it was safe to assume the Rowdy 3 could feel these kinds of things.

"You've been asleep for three thousand-six hundred and twelve minutes." Gripps noted before turning back to taste test the strange green sticks Martin was cutting, and then deciding against the flavor and spitting it on Todd's floor.

"Drummer! Drummer check it out!" Vogel leaped on the bottom of the couch where her feet were, perched like a bird. "You're brother and the British guy got Martin to cook you stuff!" His arm shot out towards the kitchen where the blond stood. Martin would die for Vogel but when it came to things like this he could just shake him sometimes. He kept his head low, chopping the celery over and over so he didn't have to see the look on her face as she sat up. 

A hand ruffled through her hair trying to pull herself from the fog of sleep and blinking a few times her eyes focused on the brightly colored apron around his middle. "I think I'm still dreaming." She croaked before clearing her throat and pulling herself up into a sitting position. Vogel bounced in place on the couch, still perched like a bird. He was clearly more focused on something else. 

"Can we do the mystery boxes now, Boss?! Can we?!" He gave a giddy grin and Amanda couldn't deny him the joy when he looked so eager. She looked over to Todd who returned the look with a nod. 

"Soup still needs some time, but I wasn't expecting to do any shopping until tomorrow so I haven't gotten you a gift yet." He explained, already knowing Amanda wouldn't care but the guilt was there none the less. In a burst of excitement the Rowdy 3 crowded around the couch so Amanda wouldn't have to get up. Cross and Gripps handed the boxes to Vogel who eagerly handed them out. He even went as far as to drag Todd and Dirk into the living room and forcing them to sit down. 

Drying his hands on the apron, Martin moved to sit beside Amanda, resting on the arm of the couch. Fingers began to untie the apron when Amanda rested her hand on his. "I like it." She snickered when he gave a slightly embarrassed huff but she could see him hiding a smirk. 

 

Dirk had been given his gift first. The box looked like it had been pulled from a dumpster, which it probably had, and was wrapped in news paper, and duct taped shut. He forced a cordial smile, half afraid he was going to find a dead animal inside or a human limb. Though to his surprise, inside he found a dark blue leather jacket. His jaw dropped at the mix of excitement and confusion leaving him awestruck. "How did you, it's even the right size? "

Amanda giggled as she watched his emotional journey unfold.  "Gripps found it in a thrift shop and said it reminded him of you."

Dirk turned his attention to the one he'd mistaken for 'Grippy' with a heart felt "Awe" and a tilt of his head. 

Todd opened his next, noticing it was much larger than Dirk's but also much lighter. He opened box inside of box inside of box before he reached the bottom. "Oh...y-you got me...my wallet?" He pulled it out of the box and Amanda burst into laughter. Todd looked around at the Rowdy 3 watching him like a group of hawks and did his best to sound thankful. "I mean...You got me my wallet..yay!" His hands moved in a little dance but his tone was less than happy. 

"Dumb ass look inside." Amanda rolled her eyes at him. Todd did as she instructed and folded up in the wallet was a ticket stub to a band Todd had nearly forgotten about. "It's the stub to the punk first show you ever took me to." They laughed and pointed at one another at the same time. "mom was so-

"Mom was so pissed I was taking you she threatened to tie our shoes together so we couldn't walk out the door. She thought I was just going to leave you by yourself and you were gonna get kidnapped by.....well by four homeless dudes." He joked pointing to the Rowdy 3. 

"Dad had to calm her down while we snuck out the back." The girl chuckled at the fond memory before letting out a content sigh. "It was the first think that inspired me to live the punk life style." The siblings stared at each other a few moments, thankful for such a happy memory. 

"Also we stole your wallet when we wrecked your place..." Cross added suddenly killing the mood. Todd got up to give his sister a half hug from the couch and nodded thanking the rest of the Rowdy 3. 

Dirk on the other hand was nearly in tears, already wearing his new jacket as he gave Gripps a very emotional hug. Gripps returned the hug, picking Dirk up off the ground and letting out a soft. "Hmm" 

"Got you one too, Drummer." Martin swung a hand around to place a long box on her lap. She looked down surprised. This was supposed to be an excuse to make up for bursting into Todd's place unexpectedly. Brows knit together and she pulled a confused grin. Fingers nimbly unwrapped the paper and pulled the box open. Her jaw dropped. Even the other Rowdy 3 members seemed surprised by the contents of the box. 

"This is your..." She was still at a loss for words, staring up into his eyes trying to understand why he would give her something this precious to him. His smile grew wider and he gave her a nod. Martin found himself suddenly hating that he hadn't given it to her alone. The look she was giving him was almost enough for him to lean forward and kiss her right there. Those big brown eyes melted him to his core each time, but she deserved this gift. 

"I thought we said we were gettin' her a hampster?" Vogel stretched to look over Gripps and Dirk's shoulders.

Amanda's hands wrapped around the baseball bat, pulling it from the box like Excalibur being pulled from the stone.  Eyes grew bigger, if possible, as she gazed it up and down. "But this is your smashing bat...I couldn't," His hand moved forward to wipe a tear from her cheek that she hadn't noticed. 

"Was mine. Now 't's yers. Don't get all emotional on me now, Drummer Girl." Martin ruffled her hair trying to shake off the feelings he could smell going around the room. Todd seemed to be the only one not getting it, however. 

"Am I missing something?" He paused. "It's an old beat up baseball ba-

"Shut up, Todd." Amanda shot the words at him without taking her eyes off the bat. 

"Yes, _shut up, Todd_." Dirk chimed in with an unexpected tone. Clearly getting a jacket from the Rowdy 3 meant defending them now too. "If my new friends want to give your sister a crummy-I-Mean fantastic old baseball bat I say let them." Dirk was too busy looking over his new jacket to see the annoyed look Todd gave him, or the heavy defeated sigh that followed. 

_______

After gifts had been given and the soup was done Amanda finally had eaten and was feeling a lot better than when she arrived. Todd offered to let them stay the night but Amanda insisted that they get going. The Rowdy 3 didn't handle being in doors for too long, or in one place. Amanda thanked him for a good time, taking a few containers of soup with her as she left. Dirk made a point to give Gripps, Cross and Vogel all very large and tight hugs before Todd finally was able to close the door with a sigh of relief. "That was exhausting." He said leaning against the door, eyes closed as he tried to finally relax. 

"I had a great time. You know, you say a lot of mean things about the Rowdy 3 and I think you're wrong about them. They're really sweet once you get to know them." Dirk was obviously projecting his own feelings about the Rowdy 3 onto Todd but he was too tired to argue. The detective could see the look in his eyes and moved to wrap an arm around him, pulling him away from the door. being broken of course, it just swung back open a little. "Oh, don't get all sleepy-grumpy on me now. You had fun, admit it." 

Todd rolled his eyes but gave a defeated grin. "Yeah, I had fun..." he looked around. "And surprisingly the place isn't that trashed." 

"And you didn't even notice the best part." Dirk sounded a little put out as he pulled Todd to the doorway towards the kitchen and pointed at a sprig of holly thumb tacked to the archway. He wiggled his eyebrows for Todd to pick up on some kind of joke. Todd shook his head not understanding. Again Dirk was not pleased with his lack of excitement. 

"so you hung up some holly?" Todd shrugged.

"No! I did my research on the Google, it's the kissy plant _thing_! People put it up in door ways so when they walk past you have to...you know?"

Todd just shook his head pointing to the ceiling behind him. "No, Dirk that's Mistlet-" Looking up now, the mistletoe was gone. Suddenly it all clicked in. Martin. And then almost instantly the rest of the puzzle clicked into place. "Ooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." The words came out as a slow whisper and his eyes went wide. Instead of correcting Dirk he simply grabbed him by the collar of his new jacket and pressed their lips together. At first Dirk's limbs went wild, used to being attacked when someone grabbed him like that but he soon relaxed into the kiss. 

"Oh." Dirk repeated a little breathless when they pulled apart. "I meant your sister missed the opportunity...but this is... _nice_ too." He managed to get the words out despite suddenly feeling like a bowl of jello. Both their cheeks burned but Todd didn't regret it. 

"Merry Christmas, Dirk." 

___

Amanda was riding in the front seat while half of the Rowdy 3 slept in the back. It had been a long day for all of them, leaving Martin the only one awake. She was wrapped up in Todd's blanket. Stolen of course, with a sister's promise of returning it eventually. Martin on the other hand was focused on driving until they found a spot to pull off for the night. The only sound was the radio playing softly in the background. It wasn't until the van was parked that Martin turned to her. 

"I wanna re-do my gift." He stated flatly, smoke billowing past his glasses as he spoke with the cigarette between his lips. Amanda opened her mouth to speak, a little confused but compliant none the less and moved to hand him the bat back. Martin simply put a hand up to stop her.  "That's not what I mean." He flicked his cigarette out the window and turned to pull something out of his pocket. "Yer brother was tellin' me about this ceiling plant thing and..." Turning back he hung the mistletoe from the fabric on roof between them. It was such a surprise, Amanda had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing too hard but it faded when she saw how uncomfortable he was with all of this. She took his hand in hers and he took a deep breath, easing up a little. 

"I-I know you can feel it," She said softly, referring to the butterflies he gave her every time they touched or gazed into each other's eyes a little too long. "And I think you feel the same way." Her hand gave his a squeeze and he moved his free hand to brush softly against her cheek. He didn't need words to answer her, that wasn't how they worked. The unspoken connection drew them closer until her lips were on his, feeling the roughness of his beard. He seemed to melt around her lips, lightly feeding off the sensation of pleasure the kiss brought them. He pulled away first, gasping for air when it became over stimulating. 

"Damn." He gave a breathless huff, trying to compose himself. He'd never done something like that before and the psychic connection was stronger than he'd expected. Something he'd have to keep in mind for the future. Amanda on the other had was left, flushed and flustered, wanting more but accepting that she couldn't be greedy. This was still new to them. Her hand mirrored his, brushing against his cheek with a flustered chuckle. 

"I'm still keeping the bat." 

Martin laughed giving her a nod. "Yeah, you can keep the bat." He rolled his eyes before leaning in for another kiss. 


End file.
